A young couple and their faithful dog leave stability to explore the West Coast. Sleeping under the stars, and surviving off of unique talents, they endeavor to meet new friends that will help them along the way, backpacking and hitchhiking until they arrive in New Mexico, where family awaits. Their goal is to gain insight and experience life without the superficial constraints of todays society. Breaking all conventions, they let the Waters of Life guide them towards their Destiny.

Colors

August 2010

When we woke in the morning and opened the door to our tent the sun was
blinding. It was probably 8 in the morning and we were right out in the
open. We seemed to be invisible to people driving by though and luckily
there was no activity in the construction field. We packed up quick and
got out to the hwy with our thumbs up. We were amazed how beautiful our
surroundings were. We were at the mouth of a draw and the hills in front
of us were covered in green grass. The sky was a perfect blue and the
sun was casting its golden glow on the entire landscape. We didn't have
to wait long before an old hippy pulled over for us. We were both tired
after our near sleepless night and were in desperate need of a cup of
coffee. It was a struggle to stay awake during the the first part of
our drive. The scenery was beautiful though, we drove through canyons
and rolling hills, with cattle, passed by endless stretches of red rock desert with enchanting arches and rock formations. We finally got dropped off in Moab, Utah where it was blazing hot.This man too, was a really friendly, trusting guy. So was the trend all through Utah. Ironically we were worried about hitching through Utah, due to the stereotype of Utah being full of conservative Mormons and because hitchhiking is illegal there.We never waited long for a ride in Utah though and were picked up by groovy hippies of the baby boomer era.
From Utah we traveled into southern Colorado where we hopped in the back of various pickups all the way to New Mexico. Colorful Colorado indeed! The landscape was incredible viewed from pickup beds. We traveled through thunderstorms and watched rain fall around us onto green fields. One night a native American man and his son let us sleep in a little trailer on their property, his wife wasn't too happy about his generosity, but let us stay anyways. Little awkward... It poured rain the next morning, but we hitched anyways until a couple with a small baby stopped and offered us a ride in their pickup. They drove us into Durango where we stayed and ate at Denny's until the rain finally stopped. We learned that hitchhiking is always much easier when a state allows people to ride in the back of a pickup. People are generally not as intimidated about letting a stranger drive in their pickup bed as they are about sharing their cab. Thus Colorado was an easy state to pass through and our time there was short, but sweet. We'll definitely have to go back and spend some time exploring Colorado, I think it's our kinda place.
We finally entered New Mexico, the last leg of our journey.

About Me

We are Tieas and Shawna. Tieas is a fire spinning, balloon twisting, philosophizing magician, always up for a new challenge and an open minded conversation. Shawna is a crafty nature loving, hoop spinning, soap making cook who appreciates simplicity and honesty. The Third member of our Triad is Mai Tai, a Noble Pup, who loves to run and go chasing after rabbits, a vigilant sentry and friend for the long roads ahead.
Three years after leaving California to meander around the west by foot and thumb to New Mexico, the traveling triad has become a quintet as Shawna's brother Denton, a young hippy looking for his way, and Maia, Mai Tai's playful four legged companion join us as we embark on a Soul Journey into the back country of the Wild West.